1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus, method, and a system for managing images produced by an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, an image forming apparatus needs maintenance work such as replacement of consumable supplies (e.g., toner, ink) and worn-out parts (e.g., photoconductor) or repair work in case of a malfunction.
The timing of such replacement of consumable supplies or worn-out parts may be determined not only by a number of sheets printed but also by other factors. For example, replacement of the photoconductor is mainly determined by how an operator (or user) uses the image forming apparatus over time. Therefore, the timing of such replacement needs to be determined for each operator or user individually.
In general, a frequency distribution of failed parts with respect to a time-to-failure (or a total number of printed sheets until apparatus failure) has a normal distribution curve. For example, replacement of parts may be determined when 10% of the product population fails (i.e., so called B10 life). However, it is undesirable to replace parts only by a factor of B10 life because the frequency distribution of failed parts may deviate from a normal distribution curve depending on certain other factors such as user-specific usage environment.
Generally, a user calls a service person when an image forming apparatus starts to produce images of unacceptable quality. Hereinafter, such unacceptable image may be referred to as an “abnormal image”. In such a case, the user may need to wait for some time to be able to use the image forming apparatus again because the service person may need some time for the repair work. Accordingly, the user cannot use the image forming apparatus from a time of occurrence of an abnormal image to completion of repair work, which is inconvenient for the user.
Further, a service person may also feel inconvenience for such situation because the service person may need to visit a customer once such call is made by the customer. Such visit by-call system may make it increasingly difficult to make a plan for maintenance work by service person because it is difficult to predict when and where such abnormal image may occur in advance.
In view of such background, it is desirable to predict an image quality condition to be produced by an image forming apparatus in the near future (e.g., number of days, number of sheets to be printed). Such prediction may be correlated with the condition of parts such as the photoconductor, because a degradation level of parts may determine image quality condition to be produced in the near future.
If such image quality condition in the near future (e.g., number of days, number of sheets to be printed) can be predicted beforehand, a user can judge whether such image quality condition is acceptable or not acceptable before such image quality condition actually occurs.
For example, some users may not accept image quality of lower level to be produced in the near future, and other users may accept image quality to be produced in the near future because of desire to keep downtime of the apparatus to a minimum.
Accordingly, it is desirable to predict an image quality condition, failure mode, or degradation of image forming apparatus in the near future so that such condition information can be used to replace parts (e.g., photoconductor) at a better timing for each user.
Related art involves the application of methods to predict a failure mode by monitoring various condition information related to the image forming apparatus.
For example, reference data for a normal condition prepared in advance for the image forming apparatus is compared with detected information (or signals) to determine a normal/failure mode of apparatus. Specifically, an MT system using pattern recognition based on multivariate analysis technique may be used. Such MT system is known as Mahalanobis Taguchi method (MT method) or Mahalanobis Taguchi Adjoint method (MTA method), for example, and can be described as follows.
Sample data having normal condition for many factors are obtained to prepare a multidimensional space. Based on such multidimensional space, a distance between a to-be-evaluated data and a center of the multidimensional space is computed, wherein such distance is known as “Mahalanobis distance.” A computing system may determine a to-be-evaluated data as a normal condition or a failure condition based on a length of such distance.
Further, another method has been applied to determine a maintenance timing of an image forming apparatus for each user, in which such image forming apparatus has a diagnostic unit to diagnose trouble of an image forming apparatus so that such trouble can be solved effectively and efficiently.
Such diagnostic unit receives diagnostic information from the image forming apparatus via a telecommunication line, and determines a plurality of methods how to cope with an apparatus condition corresponding to diagnostic information. The diagnostic unit transmits such plurality of methods to an apparatus (e.g., personal computer) of a user via the telecommunication line and displays such plurality of methods on a display unit with fee information for each method.
For example, such diagnostic information of a malfunctioning image forming apparatus (e.g., multi-functional apparatus) is transmitted to a customer center having a diagnostic unit via a telecommunication line, and fee information for each failure mode (or repair method) for each user can be estimated at the customer center. Such diagnostic information may be operating information of image forming apparatus, specification information of image forming apparatus, and remaining toner information, for example.
Examples of such repair method may be repair work by user, repair work by service person, or replacement of the apparatus as a whole, for example, and fee information for each repair method can be estimated at the customer center and transmitted to a user.
Accordingly, such system can provide information on a plurality of repair methods with related information (e.g., service, cost, days) for the malfunctioning image forming apparatus, by which a user can select a repair method. Such system may preferably provide services for repair methods depending on needs of each user.
Further, such system may provide maintenance service for each user based on condition information of an image forming apparatus, and a repair method determined based on an image pattern produced by the image forming apparatus.
For example, if an image pattern transmitted to a server of a customer center has defects, such as “sputtering (e.g., bleeding or blurred image),” it can be predicted that quality of toner has deteriorated, and a repair method suitable for such defected condition of image forming apparatus may be provided to a user.
However, such system can only provide certain types of repair methods to a user based on a determination process at a customer center of maintenance company, and moreover, such repair methods may be provided to a user with less consideration of a user-specific usage environment because a user's judgment on image quality may not be included in such determination process carried out by such system.